It was a dream come true. Me and four of my friends were going to a Rage
concert. We got to the Centrum at six o'clock, an hour and a half early,
so we could check out all the Rage booths and local radio station
booths. I was so damn excited to finally see my idols. As we walked up
the steps of the Centrum we noticed some cops holding signs that said
something along the lines of how "everyone who is going to the rage
concert supports cop-killers." Zack had something to say about that
during the concert.

"At the Drive-in" opened for Rage at 7:30. They pretty much sucked. I
couldnt understand a word the singer was saying, and it seemed that all
he did was throw his mic around and catch it. They played five songs and
then Gangstar came on. They were decent. They had the stage set up with
a background made up of fake bass amps and one black leather couch in
the center. They played for a while, talking about being rebels and then
told everyone to "flip-off the closest cop to you." That was pretty
funny. It just so happened that a security officer was walking down our
isle and everyone around us turned to him and fliped him off. After
Gangstar left the stage there was about a half hour wait until Rage came
on. Within that half hour people were going insane. Tons of people on
the top balconys jumped down to the lower levels, where I was sitting,
and decided to gather a bunch of people and take out the security guards
standing in front of the gates to the floor. They succeeded, and
eventually everyone was taking out security guards to get to the floor.

Finally, the lights got dim and Rage walked onto the stage. I noticed
that Brad was wearing a little band around his head with feather stuck
in it. Zack introduced them saying "good evening we're Rage Against the
Machine from Los Angeles California, and we dedicate this set to our
brother Mumia Abu Jamal." They started right off with Testify and then
got into Guerilla Radio, it was amazing. I was about ten feet from
Morello and I just want to state that he IS the man. The next song was
People of the Sun, and when Morello started the riff the place went of
the wall. After People of the Sun. Tim C. started the bass riff for Calm
Like a Bomb. Halfway through the whispered "feel the funk blast" Tim C.
stopped playing, he screwed up on the riff, so they started over after
the rest of the band members were finished laughing at him. They played
Bullet in the Head next, and I noticed some lifeless body get dumped
over the gate in front of the floor. Kinda glad I decided not to go down
there. Ghost of Tom Joad was next. That was awesome, and again everyone
lost it at "you'll see me..." Sleep Now in the Fire was next. I
personally love this song. All the lights went out when Morello played
his first solo except one blue light shining on him then the whole
Centrum just went off when he went into the sencond solo. Born of a
Broken Man followed. Zack went over and stood between the bass amp and
the drum kit to sing. That song was the most intense song Ive ever heard
live. No Shelter followed Broken Man, and then they played the best
song, Know your Enemy. That was absolutly the best. I have never gotton
such an adrenaline rush than when they played that song. They finished
up the set with War Within a Breath and left the stage.

After 10 minutes of chanting Rage, they finally came back for an encore.
They started of with Bulls on Parade. The whole house was shaking on the
guitar solo. After Bulls on Parade Morello started playing some slow
riff I havent ever heard. Kind of sounded like the beginning of Fuck the
Police but much slower. While They were playing that Zack made his
speach about Mumia, and about all the cops protesting outside. He said
something along the lines of "I saw all the banners and posters outside
tonight stating that were all a bunch of cop-killer supporters. Well
thats not true. All those cops outside are just intimidated by this
revolution. Were just a band. You are the ones they are intimidated by.
Rage Against the Machine sure doesnt support cop-killers, and we sure in
hell dont support no killer-cops. This is for my man Mumia Abu Jamal."
and then the riff turned into Freedom. And then without stopping Freedom
turned into Killing in the Name.

Now that was intense. All the lights came on in the whole Centrum and
every person in the place was jumping in unison, middle fingers in the
air. You never really realize the true power of Rage's music and lyrics
until you feel one of their concerts. Truly an experience I will never
forget.